This invention relates to materials for acoustic absorption. More particularly it relates to thermoformable acoustic sheets.
Sounds absorption is required in a wide variety of industrial and domestic applications. In many of these applications it is desirable that the acoustic material conforms to the shape of a surface for example or otherwise retains a particular shape. In such applications it is desirable that the acoustic sheet can be heat moulded to the required shape to provide relative ease and speed of production. Sound absorption can be a function of depth of air space, air flow resistance, mass, stiffness and the acoustic impedance of any porous media behind the acoustic sheet. Therefore, adding a third dimension for example by moulding to a required shape increases stiffness and can add practical and aesthetic value. Importantly a three dimensionally shaped material provides its own air space. The shape therefore has a major influence on sound absorption and stiffness. One particular application for heat mouldable or thermoformable acoustic sheets is in the automotive industry, in particular, in under bonnet insulators for motor vehicles. Existing under bonnet insulators use moulded fibreglass insulators for sound absorption. In these products resinated fibreglass, or felt is sandwiched between two layers of non-woven tissue and subsequently heat molded to form a so called “biscuit” with sealed edges. The difficulties associated with this product include the fact that the moulding process is relatively slow taking up to 2½ minutes per moulded part. Additionally, the use of resinated fibreglass is undesirable because of its inherent undesirable handling problems while the resins can release toxic gases during the moulding process.
Other examples of applications for thermoformable sheets in the automotive industry include wheel arch linings, head linings and boot linings.
Attempts to produce a suitable thermoformable material from thermoplastic textile for underbonnet insulator have been unsuccessful due to one or more of the failure of the materials to meet requirements of low sag modulus typically encountered at operating temperatures, unsuitable moulding performance, and lack of uniformity of air flow resistance required for acoustic absorption performance.
It is an object of this invention to provide a thermoformable acoustic sheet and a method of producing such a sheet that will at least provide a useful alternative.